State Secretary Ružička Receives Ambassadors of the Swiss Federation and the Republic of Cyprus

State Secretary Ružička Receives Ambassadors of the Swiss Federation and the Republic of Cyprus

21.12.2018 | Aktivity štátnych tajomníkov

On 19 December 2018, František Ružička, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs received Alexander Hoffet, the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation, and on 20 December, Michalis Stavrinos, the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the Slovak Republic.

In addition to the possibilities of the further enhancement of bilateral cooperation, the discussion with the Swiss ambassador focused on the evaluation of the current relations between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation. “Switzerland is an important partner for Slovakia, and there are great prospects for the enhancement of cooperation in the areas of economy, innovation, research and development. The EU and Switzerland share many common values; good and mutually beneficial relations are the basis for the cooperation of both parties,” stated the state secretary. The planned activities on the ministerial and parliamentary levels should further strengthen the existing ties. The partners also positively assessed the level of cooperation in multilateral forums, specifically in the UN and OSCE.

State Secretary Ružička and the Ambassador of Cyprus discussed the significant influence of the Republic of Cyprus on regional security, which is also partly due to the long-term engagement of the Slovak Republic. In 2019, we are to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the existence of the two-community dialogue of the leaders and representatives of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties in the divided territory of Cyprus. František Ružička assured his partner of Slovakia’s ongoing support - as of September 2018, the Slovak Republic will assume command of Sector 4 and increase the number of its troops in UNFICYP. The two partners agreed on the need to support the principles of multilateralism and give priority to diplomatic conflict resolution. František Ružička acknowledged the interest of the Republic of Cyprus in more intense bilateral visits in 2019 and informed the ambassador about the interest in increased cooperation in the area of European affairs, in negotiations on the future EU budget, and in an exchange of expertise in the area of cyber security. To conclude the meeting, the state secretary stated: “The Slovak Republic will continue to fulfil its role as a mediator when it comes to the issue of finding a solution for Cyprus. Our two countries have many common interests on the both the European and the global level.”